2021 Indian Wells Open | Sania Mirza - Zhang Shuai duo crashes out in the opening round
Sania Mirza is a six-time Grand Slam champion
|Getty
Sania Mirza and her Chinese partner Zhang Shuai have been eliminated from the 2021 Indian Wells Open after a loss in the opening round of the women’s doubles event. In spite of claiming the first set, the Indo-Chinese pair succumbed to the pressure and eventually lost the match 6-4, 3-6, 13-15.
The pair of Sania Mirza and Zhang Shuai recently claimed the Ostrava Open in the Czech Republic, as the Indian claimed her first WTA title in 20 months. However, things have gone downhill since then, with the duo crashed out in the opening round of the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic last week.
To pile on the misery, the Indo-Chinese pair was ousted in the first round of the ongoing 2021 Indian Wells Open. Up against the third-seeded Japanese pair of Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, the match went down to the wire, with the match ending in one hour and 37 minutes.
Sania Mirza and Zhang Shuai started the opening set on a positive note, having broken their Asian counterparts in the fifth game. They went on to take the set without much hassle. But, the 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalists staged a fitting comeback in the second set and restored parity.
The decider panned more like a thriller movie script, with the match swinging in the blink of an eye. However, the Sania-Zhang pair saved two match points in the contest but also lost three, which eventually handed the match in the favour of the Japanese pair, with scores of 6-4, 3-6, 13-15.
